Mike Sirotka called Tuesday’s ninth inning “interesting . . . but I knew they’d get the job done.”
That was more faith than some of the 18,542 fans in Comiskey Park had in the White Sox bullpen when Keith Foulke was lit up by the Milwaukee Brewers for four runs in the ninth inning.
But Bob Howry and Kelly Wunsch each retired a man with the tying or winning runs on base or at the plate so Sirotka, who led by six runs after eight innings, still earned the victory. And the Sox swept the three-game series with a 7-5 victory that stretched their winning streak to four.
“Obviously, we’d like to see Foulke pitch better,” said manager Jerry Manuel. “We like to keep him sharp. He’s such a perfectionist it looks like he gets away from it more than he really does.”
Foulke’s ninth inning misadventure was about the only blip on the screen on a night when Sirotka and substitute third baseman Greg Norton were the Sox ringleaders.
Sirotka (9-7) limited the Brewers to six hits and one run and struck out a career-high 10 in his 109-pitch eight innings.
“The strikeouts were kind of a fluke from me,” said Sirotka, “because I don’t strike out many. But I made some quality pitches to batters with two strikes on them. My cutting and sinking fastball was running off the plate away. It kept them off balance.”
The Sox have averaged 10.3 runs in their four-game winning streak and 9.7 in the sweep over the Brewers. Until Tuesday night, none of that offense had been generated by Norton.
Norton, in fact, had not started for a week, and in his last 16 games was 4 for 40 (.100). Manuel called on him so regular third baseman Herbert Perry could rest his aching legs.
“Norton has worked hard,” Manuel said. “He’s got to be ready to go. This is his opportunity.”
Opportunity knocked more than once and Norton answered with gusto.
Norton doubled home a run his first two at-bats. The doubles came in the second inning when his RBI earned the Sox a 1-0 lead, and in the third when four more runs made it 5-0.
When the Sox were scoring, Norton was involved in the action. He was hit with a pitch thrown by loser Jamey Wright (5-3) his third time at bat in the fifth when the Sox scored two runs on daring baserunning and Brewer errors.
“I took early batting practice, and I’m healthy again,” said Norton, who has been slowed by a hamstring injury. “It’s nice to wake up without pain. It’s hard to hit when you’ve not been playing, but I got some good pitches.”
Norton made one error in five chances in the field. His throws caused Paul Konerko to make a couple of tags at first base.
“After the length of time that I’d been off, sometimes a guy tries to do too much,” Norton said.
The four-run third proved decisive. Wright walked three batters, and all three scored. Thomas doubled home the first run. Chris Singleton singled home two more. Norton’s second double brought home Singleton to make the score 5-0.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Manuel said. “Guys are really running the bases well. That’s the type of effort and energy we need to sustain every night to continue playing at the level we’re playing.”
